New iMacs Offer 25% Performance Improvement Over Previous Generation

Earlier this week, we pointed to initial benchmarks from Macworld for the new 3.1 GHz 27-inch Mac, finding the new system to be about 16% faster than the high-end standard configuration of the previous generation overall.

Now that the machines have been out for a couple of days, Primate Labs has put together an early report collating the results from users submitting Geekbench 2 results. While not all models of the new iMac are represented in the database yet, initial reports from Geekbench point to an approximately 25% increase in performance over the corresponding models from the previous generation and up to a 70% increase over low-end "Wolfdale" Core 2 Duo iMacs from two generations ago.

While the improvements aren't as dramatic as with the Sandy Bridge MacBook Pros, there's a consistent 25% performance improvement between Sandy Bridge and Lynnfield at both the low-end and the high-end of the iMac model range (and over a 70% improvement between Sandy Bridge and Wolfdale). While this update may not tempt Lynnfield iMac owners into upgrading, it's certainly a compelling upgrade for Wolfdale iMac users.

Geekbench 2 focuses on processor and memory performance, offering direct comparisons of raw power in each machine. Other factors such as video cards and data storage devices also affect system speed but are not addressed in Geekbench's benchmarking metrics.